Ellen Percival, Sustainable Horticulture Level 2, May 2013 Assignment 201, Task B: Summarise the processes involved in plant

growth and development (Underlined words are a guide to the criteria attempting to be covered.) Photosynthesis occurs predominantly in the spongy mesophyll tissues of leaves, however it can take place in any cell which contains chloroplasts. Chloroplasts are organelles within plant cells which (amongst other things) contain a chemical called chlorophyll. Chlorophyll uses energy from light to react carbon dioxide with water, producing glucose which is then either used to fuel plant growth, as an input during respiration, or is stored as starch. Oxygen is also produced, some of which may go on to be used in respiration. Temperature, light intensity and carbon dioxide concentration all affect the rate of photosynthesis. Respiration occurs in cells containing organelles called mitochondria. In plants this is more likely to occur at night, when light is not available for photosynthesis, or in extremely metabolically active tissues such as meristems (where plants are developing and growing). Older tissue tends to have much lower rates of respiration. Respiration can occur in the presence of oxygen (aerobic respiration) or where there is very little to no oxygen (anaerobic respiration). During aerobic respiration glucose and oxygen are used to produce chemical energy in the form of adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Carbon dioxide and water are also produced. Some of this carbon dioxide may be used in photosynthesis. During anaerobic respiration glucose is not completely broken down, releasing only about 5% of the energy that aerobic respiration would release. Anaerobic respiration in plants produces ethanol and carbon dioxide as well as energy. It is most likely to occur in waterlogged soils and during the rst stages of germination, while the embryo is still inside the air-tight seed coat. The ATP produced during respiration is used to fuel chemical reactions involving sugars (produced during photosynthesis), nitrates and other nutrients to form amino acids. Amino acids can then be formed into larger proteins during the plants growth and development. Plants predominantly absorb water through root hairs on their roots. Each cell has a hair-like outgrowth in order to penetrate into the surrounding soil and to increase the roots surface area to volume ratio, maximising their potential for water and nutrient uptake. Water intake is determined by several factors, including temperature, the saturation of the roots surroundings and the rate at which water is being lost further up the plant, for instance via the leaves (see transpiration). Water passes into the roots via osmosis, a process whereby water moves from areas of high concentration to areas of low concentration through a partially permeable membrane. Nutrients necessary for growth and development are often dissolved in the water and thereby carried into the plant. From the roots, water passes up stems (via xylem vessels) to structures such as leaves. In the leaves, gases such as oxygen, carbon dioxide and water vapour diffuse in and out via small openings known as stomata. During diffusion gases move from areas of high concentration to low concentration. Thus, if there is a higher concentration of oxygen inside the leaf than outside, there will be a net movement of oxygen out of the leaf. The diffusion-based process by which water vapour is lost via the leaves is known as transpiration. Transpiration rates are affected by factors such as temperature and relative concentrations of water, and in turn affect the amount of water being drawn up by the roots. This is due to water molecules hydrogen bonds, weak attractions that allow them to bond together in long chains running continuously through the plant from root to leaf. As well as allowing minerals to enter the plant, transpiration provides water which can be used in photosynthesis and allows the plant to retain tugor pressure, which may give it greater access to light in competitive situations. All of these are important in growth and development. Translocation refers to the process by which plants move materials within themselves via phloem and xylem. Phloem is largely responsible for transporting the products of photosynthesis as soluble sugars (usually sucrose) to areas where it is needed (e.g. respiring meristems) or to storage organs. Phloem sieve-tube cells all have small companion cells with a higher metabolic rate. These companion cells make 1

Ellen Percival, Sustainable Horticulture Level 2, May 2013 energy available to the protoplasm at the end of each sieve-plate, enabling the sieve-cells to pump the sugars around the plant. Pollination refers to the process whereby male gametes (in the form of pollen grains) are transferred from the anther to the stigma of a ower, enabling fertilisation to take place. Pollination agents can include animals, particularly insects such as bees and hoveries, the wind and rain, and gravity. Some plants can self-pollinate, meaning that pollen from the same ower, or a different ower on the same plant, can cause fertilisation. Cross-pollination occurs between plants with different genetic makeups. The formation of female gametes occurs inside a plants ovules. A genetically selected diploid cell will divide by meiosis into four haploid megaspores. Three of these megaspores will die; the remaining megaspore then undergoes mitosis to form a group of eight nuclei. These eight nuclei are spread across seven cells which constitute the female gametes. One of these cells acts as an egg. Pollen grains are formed within pollen sacs which exist on owers anthers. Each anther has four sacs and each of these sacs produces cells which differentiate into pollen grains. The cells within the sacs are microspore mother cells and are diploid. Each microspore mother cell divides by meiosis to produce four microspores, each of which is haploid. These microspores then divide once more by mitosis to produce either a two celled microspore or a bi-nucleated microspore (depending on the species of plant). These microspores differentiate into pollen grains by developing thick and distinctive cell walls. When pollen grains land on the stigma of a plant they begin to germinate. They extend a pollen tube, which grows down the style to the ovule. The tube nucleus directs this, while the generative nucleus divides by mitosis to form two sperm nuclei which then move down the pollen tube together. The sperm cells then enter the ovule via its micropyle and fuse with the female gametes. The fertilised ovule (also known as a zygote) begins to rapidly undergo cell division. The cells produced are initially unspecialised, but as time goes on tissues begin to be produced by differentiation, forming the embryo within the seed. Sometimes a second fertilisation occurs within the ovule due to the second nucleus of the pollen tube fusing with two polar nuclei. The tissue produced is therefore triploid and forms the endosperm that the embryo uses as a food supply to support its growth. This process is especially characteristic of the grass family. As fertilised ovules grow and develop they remain inside the ovary. The ovary often grows to become a fruit, known as an angeion. As some species angeions develop, their wall (known as a pericarp) can become soft and eshy (as is the case for many fruits regularly consumed by humans). In other species, the pericarp can become dry and split along seams, or develop openings, allowing seeds to disperse. Types of plant life cycles: Ephemeral: A species which is able to complete its life cycle (from germination to senescence and decay) several times within a growing season, e.g. hairy bittercress (Cardamine hirsuta). Annual: A species that completes its life cycle within a single growing season, e.g. buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum). Biennial: A species that completes its life cycle over two growing seasons, e.g. purple foxglove (Digitalis purpurea). Perennial: A species whose life cycle spans more than two growing seasons, e.g. ginger (Zingiber ofcinale). Stages within plant life cycles: Juvenile: The juvenile stage in plants occurs from seed germination to rst owering. The length of the stage varies and is determined by the plants genetic makeup. During this period plants may undergo 2

Ellen Percival, Sustainable Horticulture Level 2, May 2013 rapid vegetative growth and exhibit certain characteristics, such as being thorned or having juvenile leaves. Juvenile leaves may be of a different size, shape, texture or structure to adult leaves, as is the case for ivy (Hedera helix). Adult: Plants are considered adult (or mature) once they are capable of owering and thus reproducing. Factors known as oral stimuli determine when owering occurs; temperature and day length are both examples. Characteristically, adult plants tend to have slower vegetative growth than juvenile plants and may also have morphological differences. This could be due to adult and juvenile plants being adapted to the specic microclimates in which they nd themselves as they grow and change, as well as having differing needs for protection from predators. In some species adult and juvenile tissue can occur in different places on the same plant. Senescent: Senescence is a process involving a breakdown of cellular structures and tissues leading to death. Plants gradually deteriorate and the process may be characterised by the loss of leaves, an accumulation of waste metabolic products and a decrease in dry weight. Senescence tends to be a genetically programmed process, thus once it has begun even optimal care will not prevent the plant from dying. Annuals enter senescence after one year, and biennials after two. However, in perennials different parts of the plant may undergo senescence at different times.